Good Lifestyle

Flavored seltzers have exploded in popularity in the last decade, offering a sparkling and calories alternative to sodas and sweet juices. Combined as refreshing and healthy, many of these drinks listen to "natural flavors" or "natural ingredients" on their labels.

What really means? You would be forgiven not having any idea. Although the "natural flavor" is the fourth most common ingredient listed on ingredient labels, according to the Environmental working group The database of food scores of more than 80,000 foods, Seltzer companies tend to keep the specifics of their production and key production processes.

In relation: Probiotic sodas like Olipop and Poppi may not be as healthy as you think, say doctors .

What are the "natural" flavors?

In short, "natural ingredients" in flavored seltzers generally refer to natural flavors, a term regulated by the U.S.Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

According to the FDA , a natural flavor must come from a source of plants or animals, such as fruits, herbs, spices, bark, roots or other natural materials. However, the term can be misleading, as this does not necessarily mean that the flavor comes directly from the illustrated fruit on the box.

For example, a "natural raspberry flavor" in a Seltzer may not come from real raspberries, but rather compounds of flavors derived from other natural sources which imitate the taste of raspberry. These compounds are generally extracted using solvents or laboratory fermentation process. Although the final product is chemically identical to the flavor found in nature, it may never have been in contact with the real fruit.

According to research by The Wall Street Journal , "Essence" of flavor found in Seltzer could undergo the same process as the essence found in shampoo or other scented products. Tasting table Note that this is done by "taking the skin of a fruit, for example, and by heating it to produce vapors which are then infused in the drink".

In addition to the compounds of flavors, these natural flavors formulations can also contain solvents, conservatives or emulsifiers - all derived from natural sources - to help stabilize and preserve the flavor. However, companies are not required to disclose the specific ingredients used in their mixtures of natural flavors, as they are considered owners.

"Natural and artificial flavors play an interesting role in food. They essentially provide taste and often they are added to make food more attractive, or to potentially replace something that is lost by transformation, storage or in some cases even by pasteurizing," David Andrews , Phdd, the main scientist of the environmental working group, recently said Health CNN .

"Differentiation [between natural and artificial flavors] is really due to the origin of these molecules, whether synthetic treated in a laboratory or purified in a laboratory but of a natural source," added Andrews.

In natural flavors, "the mixture often will have solvent and conservatives - and this represents 80 to 90% of the volume [of the aroma]. In the final product, it's a small quantity, but it still has artificial ingredients, "Andrews told The Outled.

In relation: The doctor says "to avoid these energy drinks like the plague".

Nutritional content creator Kyle Fitzgerald , better known for its brand Clean kitchen nutrition , recently, shared that these products can contain up to 100 added chemicals which do not need to be disclosed on the list of ingredients, as they are considered as proprietary properties. He recommends skipping all Seltzer products which contain "natural flavors" in favor of those who set out citrus or fruits, such as Spindrift or Sanzo.

Thus, while "natural ingredients" seem healthy, the term concerns more regulatory classification than the purity of the farm to the bottle. These flavors are safe and widely used, but if you are looking for a drink truly derived from fruits, search for drinks labeled with a real juice content or full fruit infusions.